An Open Challenge to James Ross (Let's Debate!)

It’s become clear that myself and another blogger, James Ross, are on opposite sides of the election for the Lake Forest City Council. He’s writing articles about Adam Nick in much the same vein as those that appeared in that racist smear campaign against Nick and Lake Forest residents during the recall, and I’ve been rebutting them.

A well-informed public is important in an election. It’s clear that Mr. Ross is at least somewhat knowledgeable about some of the issues surrounding the candidates, primarily Nick and Dwight Robinson – although he guesses a lot about stuff he doesn’t really know anything about. Nick and Robinson are from opposite sides of the tracks in many ways and seem to represent very different ideologies.

It’s clear that Mr. Ross and myself are extensions of those candidates and campaigns.

But here’s the thing: I’m a real person.

James Ross is not a registered voter in Lake Forest. I believe James Ross is actually a pen name being used by Mayor Andrew Hamilton. If I’m mistaken, then the joke’s on me. But the people of Lake Forest who are getting their insight from Mr. Ross and myself deserve to know whether we are who we say we are. If Andrew Hamilton wants to go on a one-man smear campaign, go for it – but at least be straight about it and don’t hide behind the anonymity of the internet.

So I have an offer to Mr. Ross.

Let’s have a debate. Ali-Frazier. Bentsen-Quayle. You and me.

It doesn’t actually have to be a debate. It can be a forum, a town hall, anything Mr. Ross wants it to be. It just has to be co-headlined by someone who can prove he’s James Ross of Lake Forest.

We can discuss the merits of our candidates and, for those who are interested, we might be able to provide insight that will not be uncovered during the candidate forum on Oct. 19. Because that forum is up against the third presidential debate, people who stay home to watch The Donald and Hillary will need someplace to get their fix of local political discourse.

So here’s what I’m proposing.

We will pass the hat, and any monies we receive from those in attendance will go to the charity of Mr. Ross’ choice. I’ll even guarantee you walk out of there with $100.

However, there are some conditions.

Mr. Henderson will do the work to put it together.

Mr. Ross picks the charity.

Mr. Ross picks the date.

Mr. Ross picks the time.

Mr. Ross picks the location.

Mr. Ross picks the format.

Mr. Ross picks the moderator, provided it’s not Andrew Hamilton; I want to allow Mayor Hamilton the opportunity to videotape the event so that he can post the edited clips showing me in a bad light on one of his copycat Facebook sites he created to deceive Lake Forest residents.

I don’t know that I can make it any easier for Mr. Ross to share his message with the people of Lake Forest in an effort to prevent Adam Nick or Leah Basile from being elected.

However, failure to accept this challenge no doubt prove James Ross is not who he says he is. There is no risk here. All he has to do is show up and be reasonably pleasant with the audience. But a warning, that failure to answer this challenge will result in some members of the community calling Mr. Ross a chicken, or a coward, or any number of things that Mayor Hamilton will not allow in a City Council meeting without giving audience members a timeout or having the on-site sheriff’s deputy issue a misdemeanor citation.

Oh, but think of the glory! There are people in this town who would love nothing more than to see Mr. Ross humiliate me in public.

I’m OK with that. If I can’t stand the heat, I shouldn’t get in the kitchen, right?

So that’s my offer before the City of Lake Forest and my esteemed colleague in the written word, James Ross. It’s a chance for residents to meet the two local Patch bloggers and watch them square off on the candidates, the issues, and whether Dwight Robinson’s use of a comma really was correct.

Now, to be honest, I don’t have any faith that this will actually occur. I fully expect Mr. Ross to make some excuse that will no doubt be very lame. He won’t want to detract from the candidates, or he won’t have the time (although he’ll have the time to knock out more ill-informed hit pieces on Nick based on what he thinks people spent on their campaigns), or he thinks it’s a stunt and he’s not going to play along.

But c’mon, it’s for charity. Make your supporters such as Hypocrisy Watch, Mike H and Bill Bowman happy. Believe me, they want to see this happen because they want to see you stick your foot on my throat, they want to see you put a muzzle on me, they want to see me hang. I can hear them now, with chants of “James Ross, James Ross, James Ross” with the same passion as the other famous two-syllable chant, “Ali, Ali, Ali.” Or maybe they’ll go Rumble in the Jungle with a chant of “James Ross boma ye, James Ross boma ye, James Ross boma ye”: James Ross, kill him. Hey, by the looks of it, Lake Forest politics is is a blood sport.

If Mr. Ross would like to reach me to make it happen, he can get my number from Mayor Hamilton. The mayor called me a couple times late last year, including the time he said, “You’re not going to tell anyone about our conversation, are you?” And I haven’t, which makes me considerably more concerned about the privacy of people I talk to than the mayor, who showed no consideration for the privacy of those people he secretly videotaped.

Mr. Ross -- may I speak to you directly? -- you can also reach me at a Council meeting; I’m the one in the back with the laptop. I’m pretty certain the City Clerk knows how to reach me. Adam Nick, Jim Gardner and Leah Basile know how to reach me. Then again, who am I to tell you how to reach me: Your research skills are extraordinary, so you can find me and we can make this happen. Seriously, I don’t bite, and if anybody jumps out of the crowd and tries to go Stater Brothers on you, I’ll sacrifice my body to protect you.

I know what you’re thinking: It’s stunt!!! Yes, but it’s a well-intentioned one if Mr. Ross is who he says he is. Personally, I think he’s a phantom, a figment of Mayor Hamilton’s deceptive imagination. But it will be fun, a chance for the community to meet us, a chance to prove me wrong, and it’s for charity. Maybe someone will bring some cookies. And I promise, we’ll use a really good picture of you.

Please, Mr. Ross, do it for the kids.

About the author: Martin Henderson won several Los Angeles and Orange County press club awards while an editor at Patch in 2012-13.